The Republican running for Jefferson County
Do­mestic Relations Court has extensive experience in a family law
legal practice, while the Democratic candi­date has extensive
experi­ence on the bench.

Julie Palmer, a Republi­can; and
Agnes Chappell, a Democrat, will face off Nov. 2 for the Place 20 post
on the Circuit Court, serving a six-year term hearing di­vorce cases
filed county­wide.

Chappell, 58, was rated "highly qualified"
or "qual­ified" by 38 percent in the bar poll, "not qualified" by 15
percent and "unknown" by 47 percent.

Palmer, 55, was ranked
"highly qualified" or "qual­ified" by 20 percent in an online poll on
judicial can­didates by the Birmingham Bar Association. Another 8
percent voted "not qual­­ified," and the rest said they did not know
her.

Palmer has focused on domestic relations and fam­ily law cases for most of her 26-year career as a lawyer.

She recently was named chairwoman on the Matri­monial Issues
Committee for the family law section of the Alabama State Bar. She has
served on the board of that bar section for seven years, and was its
chairwo­man 2005-2006.

Palmer has been a volun­teer mediator
to Jefferson County Domestic Relations Court since 2002. She helped
Shelby County cre­ate its own court-mandated mediation docket and is
special liaison to the court.

She also was involved in the
updates of state child support guidelines and Shelby County's guidelines
for non-custodial visitation and secondary custody.

"I am qualified, experi­enced
and ready on Day 1 to handle the caseload," she said in response to a
ques­tionnaire. "I have dedicated my life to this specific area of law,
by choice."

Chappell has been a Bir­mingham Municipal Court
judge since 2002. She has been a senior trial referee in Jefferson
County Family Court and was a full-time special Circuit Court judge for
nine years before that.

Those roles have pre­pared Chappell for the Cir­cuit Court bench, she said in a questionnaire.

"I have 27 years of experi­ence hearing cases and handling huge court
dockets both as a trial referee and judge," she said. "I heard cases of
child custody and visitation, child support, child abuse and domestic
violence at the Jefferson County Family Court."

Chappell said she has at­tended legal-education seminars on divorce law and national judicial training on domestic violence.

Palmer raised some $9,100 between the June 1 primary and mid-Septem­ber, when the latest disclo­sures were due.

She has spent about $2,200 so far on the general election, with a
balance of nearly $7,400 when she filed her latest disclosure.

Chappell has raised $9,200 since the primary. She has spent almost
$8,400 since then, with some $2,900 left when she filed her last
disclosure.